It’s school ball season and it can be a pretty penny to look pretty on the red carpet these days.
Environmental groups at Garin, Waimea, Nayland, and Nelson Colleges and Nelson College for Girls have all partnered up, so the movers and shakers of tomorrow can be dressed to the nines for an evening of well-mannered frivolity, regardless of their budget.
Nelson Ball Op Shop on Trafalgar St has an array of formalwear and accessories donated by individuals, St Vincent de Paul, Red Cross, Nelson Environment Centre, Nelson ReStore and Nelson Tasman Hospice.
The dresses, suit jackets and pants, shoes, ties and jewellery are going for attractive prices, including all dresses at no more than $25.
NCG environmental group leader Courtney Clark knows the value firsthand after purchasing her dress for a classy $15 at last year’s store.
She says, every student deserves a last dance before exams and for some, their final days with their peers, and the op shop knows how to make an entrance without the splurge.
By the same token, it’s about reducing textile waste and promoting second-hand shopping.
“We're promoting sustainability in a time where students are spending hundreds of dollars on something they'll probably only get to wear once,” she says.
“We are seeing students nowadays going to cheaper options, which may not be the best options in fast fashion industries, like Shein, where they use unsustainable methods to make these clothes cheaper.
“So, we’re trying to make it easier on the students and easier on our planet by teaching our students to donate their clothes that they already have, and making people aware that they can get good things at op shops as well.”
Courtney says the raised funds from the op shop will go toward the participating schools’ environmental groups projects, and Kai Rescue.
She says thatTasman Bay Textile ResQ, which rescues clothing and textiles from local landfills, has come to the party for in-store fittings and adjustments.
Nelson Ball Op Shop is open until 4 July. Weekdays 3:30pm to 5:30pm. Saturday 10:30pm to 3pm. Sunday 1pm to 3pm at 181 - 183 Trafalgar St.
